Doggone Sidequest
by Sky's Penname
Summary: This time, Colette wants to be the leader for their next adventure! Lloyd is only too happy to oblige. But what if a seemingly-simple quest for a lost pet holds more questions than they are able to answer?
1. Chapter 1

**A gift for my girlfriend. This will be three chapters long!**

* * *

The stars twinkled, blinking in conversation with their brightly-lit friends up in the night sky. A cool breeze blew through the grassy plains, playing a silent song to the dancing flame on the campfire's wooden stage. Over the horizon, a city could be seen, its lights outshining even the stars themselves.

Colette gazed at the city, her mind lost in thought. Lloyd kept busy near the fire with a piece of wood, working it into a figure surely meant as a gift. Noishe refused to sleep near the campgrounds, even if there was no sign of monsters for miles.

A thought crossed the Chosen's mind. A thought that's come and go many times, but one she didn't make vocal. She knew his answer would be yes, but still, she felt so silly. With the city just a day away however, those thoughts were becoming louder and louder, until…

"Lloyd?" her mouth blurted out. Oops. That would be all it took. Her thoughts would have to be vocalized now whether she liked it or not.

He didn't take his eyes off his wood working. "Hmm?"

Here was the problem. She didn't want to ask! It was silly, it was unnecessary! "Ah, um, never mind!" But her words were futile as they always are when she tried this.

Lloyd put down his figure, turned to face Colette. "What is it?" he asked, his voice filled with too much knowing.

She smiled prettily. Maybe this time she'd actually fool him. "Oh, no, it was nothing important, really!"

He raised an eyebrow. "You've got something on your mind," he said. "Tell me what it is, Colette."

Oh, darn it! Why did he always have to know? He'd never let it be either. "It was just a dumb thought, really it was nothing!"

Lloyd frowned, having played this game way too many times in the past. "I'm gonna get you to tell me what it is, so we might as well skip to that."

She sighed, defeated again. Colette was like an open book to him, but she was glad he could read her so well, still. "Well, it's stupid, but…"

Lloyd shook his head. "It's not stupid, and you're not stupid," he said sternly.

The night hid her cheeks well. "I, um, well, you know how you're always kind of the leader?"

His frown disappeared and suddenly he was the one feeling abashed. "Oh. I mean, I guess I am?"

That was something she always loved about Lloyd. One moment he was a serious adventurer, but say a simple thing like that, and he's basically a fish out of water.

She didn't want to make things weird! But, it was too late for that, now wasn't it? "No, no! It's fine that you are! I," her voice softened, and she smiled. "I like it."

Lloyd scratched his face absent-mindedly, noting that he was sitting too close to the campfire, and that's why his cheeks were red. "Thanks, but uh… there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

 _Just blurt it out!_

"I want to be the leader!" she yelled a bit too loudly. "Uh, um, just maybe one time, I mean."

Lloyd smiled cheerfully. "Is that all? Of course, you can be the leader!"

"I want to go on a quest for someone!" Colette continued, feeling stronger and more powerful than she used to. "Help someone in need!"

Lloyd nodded happily, enjoying her spunky determination. "Sure! What's the plan, leader?"

The word 'leader' empowered her. Her chest felt warmer, fingertips tingled. "I, um, figure we should find someone in Meltokio and help them! We could even set up a stand!"

His eyes lit up like the stars in the night. "Like a lemonade stand? Except we sell…" he stumbled over his words. "Our adventures?"

That wasn't quite right, but Colette laughed anyway. "Yeah! People will come to us seeking help for their problems! Instead of us having to talk to every single person on the street and hoping they give us something to do!"

The realization washed over Lloyd in waves. He was astonished. "Wow, that's a great idea, Colette!"

Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. "You really think so?"

"Of course!" he nodded. "What should we do first, leader?"

Colette didn't expect to feel so different, but her heart pounded with excitement. Even though she knew Lloyd was just playing along, she felt more open, more comfortable. More powerful? "Well, it's still a long way to go! We need our rest! We should, um, sleep!"

"Aye aye, captain!" Lloyd said, mock-saluting her. He put out the fire, slipped out into his boxers, and hopped into a sleeping bag. He clearly was not going to be sleeping that quickly.

Colette followed suit with a happy smile, managing to work herself out of her heavy outfit as well, leaving her in some cozy pajamas. The time to be ashamed of their bodies had long since passed, especially for Lloyd. She snuggled into the sleeping bag with him, his body warm from sitting so close to the fire. It felt delightful compared to her chill touch.

Luckily, Noishe has proven time and again to be a somewhat effective guard dog. If any sign of trouble came within miles of their position, the strange animal would be howling and whining, waking them before any harm could be done.

"Man, what adventures do you think people will have for us?" Lloyd asked, his eyes wide open, staring up at the stars.

Colette watched the way his eyes moved, seeing invisible adventures unfold. "Who knows!"

"Oh, oh, what if they want us to find some kind of secret weapon!" Lloyd said. "And it's, like, two swords and they shoot energy beams out the tips! Then the person will say," he put on a cliché old man voice for this. "You two have done so well! But I have no use for such a trinket anymore! For all your hard work, you should keep it."

Colette laughed with him. "But, what would you do with swords like that? Do we really need it anymore?"

He let out a huff. "Well! Maybe not! But imagine how cool it would be! I could use it to point stuff out from really far away, or maybe scare Zelos."

"That's if I let you equip it!" Colette reminded, teasing him gently. "Maybe, as the leader, I'll want to sell it for some extra Gald."

Lloyd turned over to face her in their cramped little bag, showing off a worried frown. "Aw, c'mon! You wouldn't do that, would you?" He was genuinely upset over the fact that she might not let him use these imaginary swords he _just_ made up.

"As a leader, I need to show strength and resolution! I can't always bend to the will of my subordinates," she giggled.

Lloyd was practically begging her now. "Aw, Colette, pleaaaaaase?"

That was enough teasing for now. "Oh, ok, fine, I'll let you equip them," she finally conceded with a smile.

"Yes! Thanks! You won't regret it when you see how good I am with those swords!" Lloyd kicked inside the sleeping bag excitedly, already practicing his next moves.

While it was mostly nothing, Colette felt this power to be almost intoxicating. "But, we really should sleep," she reminded him. "No one will want to hire adventurers with bags under their eyes."

He tossed and turned actively, trying to find a relaxing comfortable position. "I don't know if I can sleep, now," he admitted.

"Here," Colette said softly, turning his body so his back was facing her. "Let me draw something on your back. As a leader, I have to know how to get my team sleeping."

She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was smiling happily at that. "That'd be perfect!"

Ever since Colette had lost her voice and resorted to writing her words in Lloyd's hands to speak, the two found themselves falling back on those habits from time to time. It was a reminder of a sadder time, but also a different time, when they first began truly understanding their feelings for one another.

Her cool finger tips ran over his warm back gently, creating shapes and lines that certainly could never be interpreted as anything.

"It's a cat!" Lloyd called out before she had even finished. "Aw, c'mon, that's too easy."

Colette laughed, rubbing her palm over his back in a mock-erase fashion. This time she intended to draw a house with a tree in front and a sun shining down on top of it.

"It's uh… I dunno? Do it again," he asked, yawning.

She repeated it. Every time she finished her drawing, Lloyd took longer and longer to respond, until eventually he didn't at all. A loud snore left his nostrils, and Colette knew she had done a good job as the leader. She put her arms around him in a tight hug, and quickly fell asleep to his rhythmic breathing.

* * *

"Wow, Lloyd, this is perfect!" Colette shouted excitedly.

The adventurer in red grinned, rubbing the back of his head, but loving the praise anyway. "You think so?"

In the center of a rather bustling plaza, the two stood a bit off to the side. A wooden stand sat near the stairs leading up to more shops. It was masterfully created! Probably the best lemonade stand a kid could ever ask for! The wood was smooth to the touch, and the stand itself was sturdy enough to survive even Colette's strongest trips and falls!

Over the top of it, written in red ink, their sign read: "Adventerers For Hire!" Well, Lloyd didn't spell that right, and his handwriting was pretty bad, but that's okay! It looked so authentic! Who would be able to pass it up?

"I love it!" Colette giggled, her fingertips tingling again. To think, all she had to do was ask, and he jumped to do the task so quickly!

First things first! Colette made her way behind the stand and sat on the comfy stool, placing her hands delicately on the wood in a professional manner. "Open for business!" Lloyd shouted, startling a few passersby.

The angel's hand absentmindedly ran over the smooth surface of the stand, noting it was missing something. "Lloyd?" she called gently.

"Yeah?"

"Do you, um, think you could get some paper and a pencil or two?"

Lloyd blinked. "What for?"

"So we can write down the customer's request, of course!" she smiled.

His eyes went wide again, nodding eagerly. "Oh yeah! That's important! I'll be right back!"

And with that, he sprinted away to run yet another errand for her. Colette felt that heat in her chest again, that tingle in her fingertips, a strange sudden urge to laugh? Why did it feel so good be the leader? Is this how Lloyd always feels?

Only a few minutes had passed, and the dual-swordsman had returned, panting and out of breath. "I got… got it! I went to the weapons shop first before realizing they probably don't sell this stuff." He placed the goods on the stand a bit haphazardly.

"Thank you, Lloyd!" Colette smiled, fixing up the papers to look a bit more organized. "You're the best sidekick."

Anyone else would get upset with a comment like that, but Lloyd took it in stride. He grinned back at her. "Anything else, captain?"

Colette had to think about this one. Being the leader certainly was a big responsibility. The streets of Meltokio were busy enough, sure, but people kept passing by their stand! Maybe they weren't sure it was open for business? Hmm…

That's when inspiration hit her. "Lloyd go out in front of the stand and look heroic!"

"Eh? Why me?"

"So we can show we're professional adventurers!"

"But you're just as strong as me. Maybe stronger actually."

"Yeah, but you look the part more than I do!"

"True, true," he nodded. "How's this?" Lloyd put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest towards the crowd of people.

"That's good, but, could you, um, hold out your swords?" Colette felt tingly again.

"Oh! Okay. Like this?" With a satisfying _shink!_ He unsheathed his weapons, holding one forward, its edge pointed at the crowd, while the other sword rested on his shoulder. A few people nearby saw the metal glinting under the sun dangerously and slinked away to the other side of the road.

Colette could barely contain her excitement. "Yeah, you look so cool!"

Heavy emerald armor clanked towards their stand. "Are you kids threatening people?!" the city guard roared, gauntlet gripping his poleax tightly.

"P-put the swords away!" Colette stammered.

"Sorry!" Lloyd stuttered, fumbling his swords in shock, causing them to clatter on the concrete noisily. He scrambled for the dangerous things, sheathing them as quickly as possible.

At the very least, they were getting quite a lot of attention now! Although, it was mostly stares of fear and bewilderment. But any attention is good attention for a small business, right?

* * *

Hours must have gone by, and not a single customer came over for quest help! Well, they did get a few customers but for all the wrong reasons…

"Yeah, can I get two apple gels, an orange gel, and a life bottle?"

"U-um, I'm sorry, sir, but we're not selling items…"

"Oh, actually, make it two life bottles."

Colette had been too afraid to repeat herself. She made Lloyd reach into their pack of supplies and give the man what he wanted.

"Thanks, here's 500 Gald for your trouble."

"T-that's not actually enough…"

But he had already left. She was going to have to send Lloyd on a shopping trip after this, too. Her heart sank then, and Colette was ready to give up on her foolish quest stand idea.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it!" Lloyd said with a smile. "I'm sure someone will come."

"But our items…"

Lloyd did that finger gun thing that always made her laugh. "We'll just beat up some monsters to get our Gald back, it's no trouble." He shrugged. "Or just ask Zelos."

She smiled then. Lloyd was always there to cheer her up when she needed it. There was no reason to give up yet! With a determined smile, she clasped her hands together to try as look as professional as possible! She told Lloyd to do the same, and puff out his chest as big as he could. Oh, and maybe stand over there where the wind was blowing a bit harder? Perfect!

* * *

An orange tint covered the once blue sky. Shadows began to rise over the city ever so slightly. The hustle and bustle of Meltokio streets died down until it was nothing more than a slight simmer. Colette sighed, still sitting by her blank papers. Lloyd appeared to be struggling holding his heroic pose, sweat trickling down his forehead.

"It's okay, Lloyd, you can stop now," Colette finally said.

The powerful poser let out a breath of relief, sitting atop the stand to rest his weary feet. "Don't worry, Colette! There's always tomorrow."

She turned away from his smiling face. The angel loved his confidence, loved how he was always willing to help, but maybe this was one of those times where it was better to give up. If she just didn't look at him, she wouldn't want to keep trying, and that would fix everything for everyone!

"Colette," Lloyd called out gently. "Hey."

 _Don't look! I have to give up!_

"C'mon, Colette!"

 _Don't look, don't look!_ She could already feel herself gaining confidence about her silly stand again, oh no!

Lloyd cleared this throat nervously. "B-boss, please, we have a customer," he said in a strained tone.

 _Eh!?_

Colette brought her eyes back forward. She didn't see anyone. Was Lloyd teasing her? That would be too mean!

"Excuse me, you guys are heroes right?" a shy voice said. Colette jumped with a start, noticing it was from a little girl at the front of the stand! She was barely tall enough to even be seen!

Worried that she might have seemed rude, Colette tried to play it off. "O-of course!" she yelled a bit too loudly, slamming a palm on the stand as she stood up. The stand shook and shuddered, but Lloyd's handiwork was too strong.

The little girl had muddy hair and equally muddy clothes. She must have been from the slums. "I need help with something," she said, looking at the ground.

Colette never wanted to help anyone more than now! "We'll do it!" she shouted excitedly. "Is there a monster problem? Maybe an ancient artifact got lost?! An evil wizard locked up your parents?"

"I can't find my doggy," the little girl said.

The Chosen's eyes lit up like fireworks. "Lloyd, write that down, write that down!" The swordsman practically tripped over himself as he stumbled over the stand to get the paper and pencils. Colette turned back to her first customer. "When and where did you last see your doggy?"

"Over by Jack's house," she replied, as if 'Jack's house' was common knowledge. Lloyd wrote it down regardless, and Colette was too nervous to ask for specifics, because, what if it really was common knowledge? She didn't want to look dumb! "I haven't seen him all day."

Colette nodded, watching Lloyd scribble down the information. "What's your doggy's name? What does he look like?"

The little girl blinked. "Pippy. He's a big dog and he's all yellow. He doesn't have any spots. He really likes food and being pet." Well, a lot of dogs fit that description, but that's okay. "Do you think you can find him? I really miss him."

The Chosen nodded again, smiling brightly. "Absolutely! We'll find him, no matter what it takes."

Putting her hands in her pockets and staring at her messy shoes again, the little girl added sadly, "I don't have any money though…"

"That's okay! Lloyd, give me our pack real quick?" she asked. Without question, Lloyd handed over their practically empty backpack meant to keep them alive on long journeys. Scrounging through its contents, Colette said, "Here, take this."

Confused, the little girl looked up, holding out her hand. With a satisfying clinking, she found a rather large sack of Gald there. "Is that for me?"

"Yup!"

Her eyes brightened and she finally looked at her heroes' faces. "Thank you!" She smiled, before quickly running away to her home happily.

Waving, Colette shouted, "Don't worry, we'll get Pippy back safe and sound!"

Once the little girl was out of sight, and Lloyd finished writing down their new quest, he asked, "Was, uh, was that all of our Gald?"

Colette's smile faltered a little. "Yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

"You don't think we should check the slums first?" Lloyd asked, walking through the streets of Meltokio with a determined Colette.

The slums were an obvious first place to look. If Pippy was going to be anywhere, it would probably be near his home! But then, he wouldn't be lost if that were the case.

Colette shook her head. "If Pippy was at the slums, that little girl would probably have found him."

Eyes wide, Lloyd turned to her. "Wow! You know, that's probably right! I would have never thought of that!"

Her chest felt warm again, and she couldn't help but smile. Colette felt confident about this for once! Confident in herself! She would find Pippy!

"I think we should check here," Colette said, nodding to herself.

Lloyd stared down the street. It was a row of homes, very cozy, very quaint. Nothing like the rich mansions in the upper levels of Meltokio, but still very nice. There was a relaxed air here, a wholesome place where families came to live together in peace and harmony.

"Why this way?" Lloyd asked, not doubting her, but curious.

Colette grinned, glad to explain her reasoning. "Smell that?" she asked. Lloyd shrugged. "Dinner! Everyone's cooking their dinners for tonight. There's even a pie cooling on a window!" She sniffed the air. "Apple!"

Lloyd was impressed with her angelic sense of smell, but still didn't understand. "What's that have to do with it?"

"Pippy's from the slums, right?" Colette asked, trying to make it as simple as possible. Lloyd nodded along. "Well, chances are he's a hungry little guy! The smell of all this food could have enticed him, and he might have wandered over here."

The swordsman was shocked. "That makes so much sense!" He was clearly proud of her. She couldn't help but giggle, feeling almost embarrassed at the praise, but still loving it anyway.

Up ahead, a man could be seen walking, a dog by his side. Lloyd wished he had his make-believe laser pointing swords right now. "Colette, look!" he yelled, pointing at the dog. It was yellow, too! "That could be Pippy!"

The angel shook her head. "That's a girl dog, Lloyd." She appreciated the attempt, and wasn't about to miss her chance to see the doggy anyway, though.

"Eh? How can you tell all the way from here?" Lloyd asked as they moved toward it.

"Look at the way she walks! She's clearly a sweet puppy girl!" Colette cooed. "Plus, she's too clean, and that man must be her owner! Pippy is probably dirtier and a bit of a loner."

"Of course, of course!" Lloyd said, jotting the details down on the quest description paper he had brought along.

Doggy now in petting range, Colette called out to it. With a few excitable barks and yips, the doggy was all over Colette, tail wagging at light speeds. "Oh, you love barking don't you?!" she said happily, petting the doggy's soft furry body. "You must be Barkolee! Like broccoli! But with barks!"

The dog's owner smiled, albeit a bit nervously. "Heh heh, well, actually her name is Princess."

"Barkolee!" Colette repeated, completely ignoring the man. "Barkolee, you love pets, don't you?!" Barkolee barked and licked her face in response, tail going fast enough to send her into orbit. "Yes, you do!"

"Uh… Princess, here girl," the owner called out timidly, unsure how to act in a strange situation like this.

Barkolee didn't obey, too busy loving the pets she was receiving. After a long five-minute petting session, Colette finally said, "Okay, Barkolee, go back to your owner now!" The doggy obeyed, running back to the man happily. The owner didn't really want to get into the middle of this, and was just happy enough that his dog didn't get kidnapped there on the spot.

* * *

"Master Zelos," Sebastian the butler said, "There is a Mr. and Mrs. Bud to see you."

"My name's—argh, _our_ names aren't bud!"

Zelos practically jumped down the stairs, racing towards the door for his visitors. "Bud!" he yelled, hearing Lloyd's protest clearly but choosing not to acknowledge it. "Didn't know you two finally got married!"

Out of all the decisions Colette made today, including giving away all their food and money, this was probably the only one Lloyd didn't approve of. "We're not married."

The redheaded Chosen met them at the door of his mansion, grinning like an idiot. " _Yet_! Sebastian's got an eye for this, ya know, don't ya, Sebastian?"

The butler nodded. "Of course, Master Zelos," he said too seriously, not quite sounding like he meant what he said.

Brushing away the help, Zelos leaned against the open door to his home. "It's been a while. So, hey you two lovebirds! What's going on?"

"Dogs," Colette corrected.

The flashy Chosen nearly lost his balance against the door. "Uh… What?"

"We love dogs, not birds!"

For a moment, Zelos made that face, that face of betrayal. Maybe he should have gone through with it after all, even knowing the other side would lose.

"…Right."

"Well, we love birds too, but not as much as dogs!"

"All right, all right, I get it," he sighed, exasperated. He took his head out of his hands and tried to regain his lost composure. "So, what are you guys up to?"

Colette blinked, realizing she didn't answer the question before. "Oh, right, sorry!" She curled her hands into fists, looking like a determined adventurer. "We're on a quest!"

 _Little miss angel has been awfully talkative. Usually it's Lloyd doing the blabbering._ Zelos' interest was piqued. It had been quite some time since he had gone on an adventure, and this little blonde girl was certainly motivating him to go out and get moving. "A quest, eh? That sounds like fun. Do you need any help?"

Colette turned to Lloyd for a moment. He shrugged, practically saying ' _up to you_.'

"We could always use help!" she said after a moment, shining brightly. Zelos was starting to understand why Lloyd never left this girl's side. "O-oh, and I guess I should mention, um, I'm the leader for this one."

 _Adorable_! "I don't have a problem with that, baby," Zelos smirked, trying his best to be suave. "You tell me whatever you need, and I'll get right on it."

"Great!" Colette clasped her hands together, unable to hide her joy. "First things first, we could, um, use some money. And maybe a place to stay for a night or two."

 _She gets right to the point, doesn't she?!_

"Well, uh, sure I guess I could loan you guys some cash." His agreement just sort of blurted out. Zelos had a bad feeling these two weren't going to be good on paying him back.

"Thanks, Zelos! I knew we could count on you!" she said with such a spunky cuteness that made Zelos forget any regrets he might have had.

"Heh heh, and you guys are welcome to stay in my mansion!" he said with a renewed vigor. "Mi casa es su casa!" He totally pronounced that all wrong, but these dorks couldn't tell. "I've only got the one bedroom open next to mine, so make sure you two don't make too much noise, if you know what I mean." He raised his eyebrows scandalously and poked Lloyd's side with his elbow.

The sexual remark went over their heads like a spaceship to the moon. "Don't worry, we won't be too loud!" Colette smiled innocently.

"Ah, well, I might snore a little," Lloyd admitted.

The redheaded Chosen frowned. Were they really still that naïve after all these years? "Uh, anyway, so what's this quest you need money for?" He laughed, imagining some great scenarios. "Maybe a pit of beautiful succubi need to be tamed! Or a busty damsel in distress? Or you need help organizing a sexy beach party?"

"We're looking for a little girl's lost doggy!" Colette and Lloyd said together in unison.

Zelos' hopes and dreams were visibly shattered.

* * *

"Piiiiiiiippy! Here boy! Here Pippy Pippy Pippy!" Colette and Lloyd called out into the streets. The black of night had overtaken the sky now, leaving only the white light of the moon, and the orange lights of the hanging lanterns around town.

"Uh, here pappy, or whatever," Zelos mumbled halfheartedly.

The blonde leader frowned. "His name is Pippy, Zelos."

He shrugged. "Can a dumb dog really tell the difference?"

"You're dumber than a dog and you can tell the difference," Lloyd snapped back, quick to defend all dogkind for Colette's sake.

"Bud!" Zelos cried, his shoulders slumping, eyes watering. "That was cold!"

But Colette was too busy concentrating on the task at hand to focus on her sidekick's assistant's antics. She strained her angelic senses to their limits, looking over every crack in the cement, every blemish against the metal of a trash can. Her ears picked up everything, every dog in the entire city! But even with her extensive dog knowledge, she couldn't make out Pippy's voice in the crowd.

"Hey, is that Pippy over there?" Zelos pointed languidly. A small black dog could be seen sitting quietly outside of a shop, staring at the door, waiting for his master to return.

"Zelos…" Colette sighed, disappointed in him. "Pippy is a big yellow dog."

"Close enough?"

She sighed to herself. Was Colette failing as a leader? She couldn't get Zelos to take this quest seriously! Then again, Zelos never took anything seriously, did he? Hmm… A good leader would know how to make use of his abilities. Aha!

"Zelos, why don't you ask those ladies if they know where Pippy is?" Colette asked, looking to a group of gossipy girls chattering away.

His melancholy mood melted magnanimously. "Yes, ma'am!" He sprinted in their direction. "Hello, hunnies…"

Unsure where to go next, Colette and Lloyd made their way over to the little black dog. It saw them approaching and visibly shifted, it's tail wagging slowly, but cautiously. The Chosen knelt down slowly and held out a hand calmly, letting the doggy get a good hello sniff with its cute little wet nose.

After deciding this girl was a friend, the doggy's tail wagging increased, no longer afraid of the angel's presence. "Oh, you're such a sweet, loyal doggy aren't you?" Colette said, petting behind its floppy ears gently. "You're Douglas! Douglas the dog!"

Lloyd laughed behind her. "Doglas," he mumbled, petting the little doggy along with her.

Colette took a seat on the ground, letting Douglas climb up on her lap as she absentmindedly pet him. She had met so many new doggies! It was a great quest so far, and she loved these precious pooches so much! But she made no progress on finding Pippy yet. She couldn't let Pippy down! What if he was alone and scared?

"Heeeeeey!" Zelos yelled, stomping over to the duo with frizzy hair and various lipstick markings across his face. Douglas didn't like him, making sure to stay close to Colette while the strange red-furred human shouted. "Think I might have found something out about your Pepper dog!"

"Pippy," Lloyd sighed. "Also, why are you holding an octopus?"

Zelos looked down at the slimy thing in his arms, as bewildered as anyone else. "Look, Lloyd, women work in mysterious ways." He tossed the raw fish behind him haphazardly. "Even I don't know why they give me things like this."

"What about our lost doggy?" Colette reminded gently.

"Oh, yeah," Zelos blinked. "You guys hear about Regal's new building here?"

Colette and Lloyd exchanged confused glances. The two of them sort of lived in their own little bubble of adventures, never paying much attention to the politics or general goings on of the world.

The redhead frowned. "Yeah, didn't think you two did." He sighed. "Well, Regal's been expanding his little Lezareno business empire. He made quite a big building right here in Meltokio!" Zelos scratched at his chin in thought. "Though, no one really knows what he's planning to do here yet. It's all been really hush hush."

Lloyd asked, "What's Regal's building have to do with Pippy, though?"

Waving his hand grumpily, Zelos replied, "I was getting to that, bud! Apparently, from what my hunnies told me, they've been taking stray dogs into that new Lezareno building of theirs."

The dual wielding swordsman grew visibly upset. "But Pippy isn't a stray dog!"

Zelos held up his hands, growling back, "Don't get mad at me, I'm just telling you what they said!"

"Well, if Pippy is from the slums, he probably looks like a stray dog," Colette added with a nod.

"Wow, of course! You're a genius, Colette!" Lloyd said with a huge smile.

Zelos curled his hand into a fist. "I was gonna say that!" His anger subsided slightly. "Just, uh, a little later."

"No, you weren't."

During their conversation, Douglas the dog had fallen asleep in Colette's lap, her soft petting sending him to a doggy dream. The canine loving Chosen continued petting as she thought. "What could Regal be doing with all those doggies?" she said to herself.

Her question interrupted the boys' little spat. The two had placed their hands over each other's faces, pressing and pushing with a less than playful force. "Well, Regal would never hurt a dog," Lloyd said.

Zelos glared. "Eh? What makes you so sure? He kicked more than his share of monsters without showing any remorse."

"Well, so did you!"

"At least I wasn't in handcuffs and talking about my sin the whole time!"

"More reason he'd never hurt an innocent dog!"

"You never know, Regal was pretty weird," Zelos added, looking away. "It's always the quiet ones."

"That's rich coming from you, you're one of the loudest ones."

Zelos quickly lost his angst-ey aura, tears welling up in his eyes as he grabbed Lloyd's arm desperately. "Ah, bud, where did you learn to be so cruel!? Have you been talking to Sheena, lately?"

Trying his best to ignore Zelos' clingy nature, Lloyd turned to their leader. "Well, what do you think, Colette?"

Still petting the little dog, completely lost in thought, Colette finally snapped out of it. "Ah, um, well I'm not sure! It certainly is strange Regal is taking all the stray dogs in Meltokio…" she admitted, looking a little worried. "But, he'd, um, never hurt them, right?"

"Of course not!" Lloyd replied, but for a moment, his eyes looked to the left, betraying his confident answer.

Zelos, always one to interject his own thoughts, added, "Well, I never totally trusted the guy in the first place. I wouldn't put it past him."

Hmm… it was so strange. Colette had gotten to know Regal quite well during their journey together! Although, even during their closest moments, it was always difficult to truly know what the man was like. She'd like to believe she trusted Regal, that he'd never do something so cruel! But, there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind, a tiny voice saying, _but what if he did?_

No, no! How could she think such a terrible thought about one of her dear friends?! After all they went through?!

Colette apologized to Douglas as she woke him from his slumber to place him back on the ground. She stood up and faced the boys, saying, "Well, why don't we go to Regal's new building and ask him ourselves?"

Lloyd smiled again, able to ignore Zelos' shenanigans finally. "Yeah, that's a good plan!"

Brushing a lock of beautiful hair away from his face, Zelos said, "Yeah, Angelface, you're right! No point in sitting around thinking about it."

She smiled, chest feeling warm and fuzzy again. It'd be nice to see Regal as well. She hoped.


	3. Chapter 3

The Lezareno building stuck out like a sore thumb. For one, the building was completely new in a city of churches and palaces, and for two, it was quite technologically advanced. The building itself loomed over Meltokio, reaching heights above ten stories. Automatic sliding glass doors could be seen in the front with windows spotted all over the building, some lit up for the night, others dark.

One would think that work hours would be over for this building, but it was apparently quite busy. Large metal wagons, using probably the same technology as the EC vehicles, were parked in front. Employees hefted boxes of something inside.

Colette and her two followers navigated the city easy enough, having their happy conversations together. Zelos, of course, had to stop by every lady to wave hello, pocketing various money and assortments of fish that he clearly did not want.

"See, I don't get it, where are they even holding the fish?" Lloyd asked, arms behind his head.

Zelos shrugged, tossing the cod at a hungry cat as he walked. "Bud, it's probably best we don't think about it."

"Yeah, but I mean, Colette doesn't just carry fish on her person, you know?"

"Angelcheeks isn't exactly a normal lady, now is she?"

Colette wasn't in their conversation, but she enjoyed hearing them talk all the same. It brought back wonderful memories. She was too focused on the quest to talk much anyway. But once the Lezareno building came into view, with their trucks and boxes, a strange panic washed over Colette.

"Quick, hide!" she ordered, ducking behind a hedged bush.

Lloyd was confused at first, but quickly complied, pulling a stubborn Chosen down with him. "What is it, Colette? What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

Brushing the loose leaves from his precious hair, Zelos added, "Yeah, what gives?" The Chosen found himself whispering even though he sensed no real danger.

Colette smiled nervously, whispering low. "I-uh, I don't know! I just kind of thought we should hide? Like, to figure out what they're doing?"

Lloyd nodded, eyes glinting in the moonlight. "Good idea."

"Looks like they're just carrying a bunch of junk," Zelos said lazily, poking his head up way too high.

"Gah! Get down, will you?!" Lloyd whispered, pulling the Chosen down with a noisy force.

Colette's mind was racing. "What do you think they're bringing in there?"

Lloyd blinked. "Uh, I dunno, maybe just like, sandwiches or maybe toys?"

A thought dawned on the redhaired Chosen. "Or maybe Exspheres."

Colette's eyes went wide, Lloyd nearly fell over. "What? No way!"

Zelos turned to face him, his usual goofy smile gone, replaced with those eyes that knew too much, and trusted so little. "Bud, you know the guy owns an Exsphere mining company, don't you?"

He frowned, looking frustrated. "Well, yeah, that's true I guess, but Regal would never do anything wrong with them!"

It was dark, but Colette still saw him plain as day. With a little yelp, she shushed her partners, watching as Regal approached his building. If it weren't for his long blue hair, she wouldn't have even recognized him. For the entire journey, he had been a scruffy handcuffed man, wearing nothing but tatters.

Now, however, his hair was slicked back, clean, beautiful even, like a sparkling waterfall that ran down his elegant shoulders. Instead of tatters, he wore a spiffy suit, black with a matching red tie. It was clear this was an extremely important man, with power over people she could never imagine to have. His handcuffs were finally free, holding a clipboard, but looking slightly uncomfortable with the action, even after all this time.

"Whoa, no way, that's Regal?!" Lloyd gawked.

"Of course it is, you hick!" Zelos whispered, suddenly now the one trying to keep the other quiet. "How many times have we told you that he's a president?"

Lloyd frowned at the scolding. "Well, yeah, but I just never saw him do anything like that when we were with him…"

Colette focused her eyes, seeing something held in Regal's free hand. "What's that?" she said aloud, but mostly to herself. Still, the boys were curious.

In his hand, he held a leash. Stepping quietly behind was a dog! Could it be Pippy?! No, no. This doggy was big, but she was a girl, and she had beautiful red fur. What was Regal doing with this dog?

"Good evening, Mr. Bryant!" an employee greeted as Regal went by.

"Good evening," he replied absentmindedly, lost in thought as he stepped through the glass doors, doggy following behind.

"Was that Pippy?!" Zelos whispered excitedly, finally getting the lost dog's name right for once.

Lloyd groaned. "No, Pippy is yellow. We've told you this so many times."

A cold feeling ran through Colette's spine, a fear she didn't wish to express. "What was Regal doing with that doggy?"

Zelos furrowed his brow. "Like my hunnies said, Regal's been gathering up the dogs. But no one knows what he's doing in this building yet."

Shaking his head, refusing to believe something so suspicious, Lloyd argued, "Maybe Regal just really likes dogs. Maybe he's got a room full of dogs that he plays with?"

"Bud, I wish I could be as stupidly optimistic as you."

 _Bark! Bark bark!_

A dog?! Colette could feel her muscles tensing, her fists tightening. A large yellow dog came barking through, making quite the fuss and bothering the employees.

"That must be Pippy!" Colette exclaimed, heart pounding. Just as she was about to call his name, another booming voice interrupted her.

" _Dog_!" it had roared. Regal stood in the building, doors open. His face was stern, and his voice had immediately stopped Pippy's barking. The dog he had brought in was nowhere to be found. "Come," he commanded.

Like a robot forced against its will, Pippy found himself moving toward Regal, tail between his legs. The workers let out a sigh of relief as the now obedient animal found itself inside. Regal grabbed Pippy by the scruff of his neck, pulling him along inside.

"Wow," Zelos breathed, shocked. "That didn't look too good."

Lloyd shook his head. "No, no, he was just bringing Pippy in for the night, that's all."

"Oh man, you just never learn…."

Colette couldn't believe her eyes either. The way he commanded Pippy, Regal had looked terrifying! Just what was going on? What should she do? Lloyd was right, Regal would never do anything to harm a doggy!

 _But what if he did? What if those boxes_ are _Exspheres?_

No, stop it! Such horrible thoughts!

 _After all the betrayal you suffered over your journey, would it really surprise you?_

This was different, though. Not Regal.

That's it! She needed proof. Proof would calm her down, put all her worries to rest. She could get proof easily! She knew just what to do.

"Lloyd, grab one of those boxes!" she said.

"W-what?! Are you serious?"

One of the workers had placed a box down by the entrance, close to the shadows. His back was turned, and a few others appeared to be on break after dealing with the excitable Pippy. If there was ever a time to get concrete proof, now was it. "Yes, hurry!" she ordered.

Without another word, Lloyd slipped through the bushes, hunched over and trying his best to stay in the shadows. Zelos, witnessing the whole thing, smirked to himself. "Ah, so that's how it is…"

"Shh, Zelos!" Colette scolded.

"Y-yes, ma'am," he whined, cowering.

Lloyd was never really one for sneaking. He was more one for jumping in, making a lot of noise, and beating up any bad guys that deemed his behavior inappropriate. So, a few stumbles here and there were expected. Every so often as Lloyd crept closer and closer, he turned back to face Colette, a nervous look on his face as if to ask ' _you sure about this?'_ Colette would nod and reaffirm his sneaking confidence.

Luckily for them all, Regal's workers weren't armed guards trained to look out for ninjas or sneaking armed men. So, when a bright red man with two swords dangling at his waist stumbled out of the shadows, they didn't really notice. Lloyd grabbed the box and sprinted back towards the group, as if an entire army was chasing him.

Huffing and puffing, (mostly at the fear of getting caught rather than exhaustion) Lloyd plopped the box down in front of curious eyes. "I-I got it," he mumbled, looking guilty.

Just as Lloyd knew Colette, Colette knew Lloyd. "Don't worry, we'll give it back, I promise," she said sweetly.

"Speak for yourself, angel," Zelos purred. "C'mon, open it up, open it up!"

Still, she felt guilty for what she did. Colette saw Lloyd's eyes, saw his nervousness as well. Maybe they shouldn't open it? Maybe this was wrong? What she did was technically stealing! She made Lloyd break the law! Oh, no, what has she done?! All of this against her own friend, Regal, too!

Like a kid who just couldn't wait four more hours till Christmas morning, Zelos groaned, "Well, if you guys aren't gonna, I will!"

"Hey, stop!"

But it was too late. Zelos' grabby fingers ripped open the box top revealing the contents to all. Suddenly, their worries of guilt were gone. Their eyes wide, none could find the words to speak.

Exspheres. It was true. Zelos was right. There was no doubting it this time, no hiding from the truth. Each box must have been full of Exspheres, these lifeless beings harvested from the mines. All these stones, primed for the anguish of their fellow people, boxed before them in mass.

"I knew it," Zelos muttered under his breath, the smile finally gone. "I knew we couldn't trust him."

Lloyd shook his head, still trying to believe. "Hold on a second, hold on! We don't know what he's doing with the Exspheres! Maybe he's going to hide them away, like Colette and I are doing."

"I doubt it, Bud," Zelos replied, his voice low, unhappy. "Regal probably didn't get where he is today by making bad business decisions. In a world where Exspheres are so hard to come by, he'd make a fortune selling these."

Curling his hand into a fist, Lloyd snapped, "No way! Like I said before, Regal would never hurt another person!"

Colette had been lost in thought. Her eyes distant, staring into the sparkling orbs. "But what about dogs?" she breathed, the words coming out through a lump in her throat, filled with shame. She didn't mean to say it.

Zelos' eyes widened. "Can you make Exspheres with dogs?" he asked. "I guess no one's ever tried. It would make sense."

"But…" Lloyd tried to reason, tried to defend Regal, but couldn't find the words.

"The doggies disappearing around Meltokio," Colette breathed again, ashamed again.

Through gritted teeth, Zelos said, "You can't trust nobles. You just can't."

For a moment, silence washed over the trio. A sad one, one that was not unfamiliar to them. Something they all thought was over, something they were sure would never happen again in this new world. "Well, what do we do now?" Lloyd asked finally.

It seemed they had no choice. Colette still could barely believe it. It couldn't be true, but all the facts were right there! "We have to talk to Regal," Colette said solemnly. "He'll tell us what's going on, that what we're thinking is wrong."

"And if we're right?" Zelos asked, his voice sounding natural for once.

"We'll stop him," Colette replied, unable to believe her own words. "I promised to save Pippy. I won't let any doggies get hurt."

Lloyd looked away, angry at himself and this situation. "I'm with you, Colette," he said sternly. "Always."

* * *

The Lezareno company building was just as impressive on the inside as it was the outside. The trio's footsteps echoed against the marble tiled floors, their reflections perfectly visible in the sheen. Zelos was most impressed with this, making kissy faces at himself.

A decadent fountain spewed forth crystal clear water in the center of it all. Lloyd and Colette had the urge to jump into it, but they both agreed this wasn't the time for that. At the end of the way, a receptionist sat behind a large counter next to a set of elevators, clearly readying herself to leave work for the night.

"Ah, a lady," Zelos cooed, eyes glimmering. "You two let me do the talkin' and I'll have us at Regal's office in no time."

"Whatever you say," Lloyd sighed.

"I believe in you!" Colette cheered.

With a laugh that didn't inspire confidence in anyone, the flirtatious fighter dashed towards his potential hunny, leaving the two by themselves.

"You don't really think Regal would start making exspheres, do you?" Lloyd asked, losing confidence in his own position as well.

Her smile faded. "I, um, I dunno." The Sylvarant Chosen fiddled with her hands absentmindedly, messing with a lock of golden hair. "I do know Pippy is in here, somewhere, though. Sorry for dragging you in this, Lloyd."

He shook his head, smiling back at her. He always smiled when times were at their worst, always filling her chest with that confident warmth again. "Don't apologize, dork. No matter what happens, we need to confront it, and we'll confront it together." He held her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

She was so happy to have Lloyd around, always supporting her. Colette opened her mouth to say –

"Ahhh, well, this was kind of a bust," Zelos interrupted. A confused expression plastered on his face, he held a banana firmly in one hand. "She wouldn't really listen to me, and she insisted I take this banana."

Lloyd stared at the fruit. "I really don't get your relationship with women."

The flashy Chosen posed cooly, holding the banana out like a rose. "It's mysterious, like me!"

"You're a mystery, all right."

"Bud! Again, with the cruelty! I could tell by your tone you didn't mean that!"

Colette sighed a content sigh. She did so enjoy their little quarrels. But right now, she had doggies to find and doggies to protect! She'd let them talk. It was time for her to be a leader!

Taking in a deep breath, fixing her hair a little, and making sure her posture was presentable, Colette strolled forward to the secretary. "Um, hi!" she said, smiling as cheerfully as possible.

"Uh, hello," the secretary replied, packing up her things. "Lezareno is actually closing right now, so…"

Oh this was nerve wracking! This was hard! She was already so embarrassed! But this was for dogkind everywhere. Colette would get over her awkwardness for them!

"Um, well, I'd really like to speak to Regal," she stopped herself. "I-uh-I mean, President Bryant, please! It's urgent!"

The secretary looked as if she'd been working a long shift, desperate to go home. Her eyes were tired, her smile fragile. "I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed. Master Bryant will not be taking any meetings tonight."

Everything hurt! She was being such a nuisance to this nice lady! She was being so awkward! Oh, but she couldn't give up…

"I-I'm very good friends with Rega-er Master Bryant!" she stuttered out. "I-I'm certain he'd allow me!"

Her bags already gathered, the secretary replied, "I'm sorry, miss, but if I let everyone in who said they were friends of Master Bryant, I'd be fired." She began walking away from her desk. "If you'll excuse me, I must be getting home now."

But Pippy! All those poor dogs! The Exspheres! Colette had to do something. "No, please, miss!" Colette begged, moving closer to her, legs trembling. "I have to talk to him, it's really important! It's about dogs!" Oh, that wasn't the best way to phrase it.

"Ma'am, please," the secretary said, looking a bit frightened. "I don't want to call security."

Security? Oh no, this wasn't what she wanted at all. "N-no, you don't understand, I-I just want to help the dogs!" Colette stuttered, moving forward. Ah, if only she could word it better! "Sorry, that's not what I mean, I just-ah!"

Colette's trademark clumsiness kicked in at the worst possible time. She was already nervous, her legs were already trembling, and even if there was nothing to trip on, she still managed to lose her balance. With a rough tumble, she plowed into the secretary accidently, slamming both of their bodies against the desk console with a terrible force. Buttons of all kinds were pressed at random, but luckily, one of those buttons opened the elevators.

"Ah, oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"S-security!" The woman cried, her desk a mess, her papers and personal effects strewn across the floor. "Help! I'm being attacked!"

One of the buttons also happened to be the alarm. Oops.

"Colette, what the hell?!" Zelos yelled over the sirens. "Did you attack my hunny?!"

"N-no, it was an accident!" Colette tried desperately to defend her character, but already the shuffling of feet could be heard.

Lloyd grabbed Colette by the hand, pulling her out of her frightened trance. "There's no time for chatting, come on!"

"Oh, when I hit on women they give me looks, but when she literally hits women, it's all fine and 'there's no time' and whatever," Zelos grumbled, dashing into the elevators with them.

"What floor is Regal on?!" Lloyd demanded, looking over several rows of buttons.

"P-probably the one before the roof!" Colette stuttered through her trembles.

The guards were already on the floor, their armor and weapons gleaming dangerously under the light. "There they are, get them!" they roared, charging forward.

Zelos slammed his palm on the top set of buttons. "Whatever, let's just go already!" The doors closed agonizingly slowly, while the guards were only a few feet away. "C'mon stupid thing, hurry up!" Zelos yelled, pressing it as fast as he could, sweat dripping from all angles.

Luckily, they closed in time. The trio let out a sigh of relief as the elevator slowly worked its way up. If this place was anything like the Lezareno building in Altamira, then there were no stairs that connected to Regal's office.

"Can't they just shut this thing off downstairs?" Lloyd asked, worried.

Smiling nervously, Colette replied, "I, um, doubt it. I fell on the desk pretty hard. I, um, think I broke it. Sorry," she said reflexively.

"My god," Zelos sighed, genuinely stunned. "Colette, you are brutal."

"Sorry."

Lloyd shook his head, holding her hand tightly again. "It's okay, don't go back to saying sorry so much! Without your, uh, quick thinking we would have never made it this far."

Another frown. Zelos said, "This far, huh. Looks like we're confronting Regal after all." He looked over Lloyd. "Hope you're ready to use your swords, Bud. Without his handcuffs, Regal will be nearly a god."

"We've beaten gods," Lloyd replied. "Besides, it won't come to that. Right, Colette?"

She looked down at her feet, unhappy. "I hope so. I'm not sure." The Chosen shook her head. "I can't allow anyone to hurt doggies, Lloyd. Not even Regal."

Silence. "I understand, Colette," he said finally.

While the mood was serious, sad, and nerve-wracking, the tone was sort of ruined by the fact that catchy elevator music was playing. Zelos lightly kicked at the floor, trying to keep his angst-ey expression, but failing.

Not every boss had the most fitting music.

* * *

The elevator doors slid open on Regal's floor, directly connecting to his office. Glass covered the entirety of its walls except for one panel behind a plain but immaculate desk. A large, plush carpet held up an assortment of bookcases, each filled with ledgers and subjects of advanced interests; all befitting an intelligent and diligent CEO. Regal himself was seated behind the desk, reading over the last of his records for the day. The sound of the elevator made him raise his head.

"Can I help y—," he started, until he saw the trio before him. His usual stern expression betrayed his shock. "Lloyd? Colette? Zelos?"

The Chosen of Sylvarant walked forward, her partners close behind on both sides of her. "R-Regal!" she started, trying her best to sound serious. "Um, how are you?"

Zelos put a palm over his face to hide his shame.

"I'm doing very well," Regal nodded. "But why are the three of you in my office at this time of night?"

Colette clenched her fists together, trying to bring the words out which used to come so easily to her friend. "We're looking for Pippy!"

The suave blue-haired man tilted his head. "Pippy? I don't believe I understand."

This was no time to be awkward! She had to be the hero! What would Lloyd do?!

"D-don't play dumb!" she cried, voice cracking process. "We know you have Pippy! We know you've been taking dogs off the street!"

Regal's eyes widened with a bit more understanding. "Ah, I see," he sighed. "I was hoping we weren't quite so obvious with it."

He admitted to it!

"Regal, how could you?" Lloyd spoke up, hands clenched into fists.

The president rubbed his wrists absentmindedly. "I apologize. Maybe it wasn't quite the most optimal move, but I feel it was necessary."

Zelos' anger had been boiling the entire time. With a stomp of his foot on the ground he yelled, "Turning dogs into Exspheres is necessary? That's messed up, man!"

"What?" Regal looked shocked.

"Yeah, we figured out your plan," Zelos added through gritted teeth. "We saw all your Exspheres down there."

Colette forced her voice to be heard, but it was still filled with nerves. "W-we saw you yell at Pippy and drag him inside!"

"After all the tragedy Exspheres have caused…" Lloyd said, unable to look him in the eyes.

Regal stood tall and threatening, his black suit darker than night. He walked forward towards the three heroes, his stance perfect, always at the ready. Colette and the others prepared themselves.

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding," Regal said, patting one palm against his leg.

"Huh?" Colette breathed, confused by his words and his actions.

A red furred doggy appeared at his side, tail wagging happily. "Dog!" Regal shouted sternly, frightening the trio with his booming voice. Another dog appeared this time, a big yellow one.

"Pippy!" Colette called out.

For the first time in her life, the dog responded with an angry growling and a showing of teeth. Pippy charged forward, lunging at Colette, barking in a rage. The Chosen was absolutely stunned, heartbroken even.

"Dog!" Regal boomed. "Stay!"

Pippy stopped his lunge, but still burying his paws down into the carpet, ready to attack at a moment's notice. Regal sighed, grabbing Pippy by the scruff of his neck. Regal tapped the dog's nose with his finger lightly, and instantly Pippy's tail dropped, eyes switching from anger to sadness. Pippy was guilty.

"Some dogs need discipline," Regal said, petting Pippy gently once the animal had calmed down.

Zelos had no idea how to handle this. "I-uh, what's going on?"

Regal brought Pippy over to the red doggy, petting both of their heads. "This dog you call Pippy has a mate." He looked over to the red furred doggy. "This one. I took her off the streets. She was a stray animal, scrounging for food, dirtied beyond all reason. At the time, I did not know she had a mate.

"Pippy," Regal continued with a serious tone, sounding weird. "Must have went looking for her. It was only yesterday I stumbled upon this one. He's a wild one, very defensive over his mate. He'd spend his time around my building barking and causing trouble. I've caught him a few times, but he's managed to escape. Only tonight did I realize I must discipline him."

Lloyd shook his head. "But the Exspheres! Why are they all down there?"

Regal scratched his chin. "May I ask how you knew those boxes contained Exspheres?"

"I-uh," Lloyd stuttered, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, well, I kind of stole a box to see what was inside."

Colette spoke up quickly. "No, wait! I told him too! It was my fault! I'm sorry."

There was a short silence. It seems Zelos was expected to admit some guilt as well.

"I see," Regal nodded. "That was a failure on my part. I placed no guards down at the bottom so as not to attract suspicion. It seems it was fruitless."

Zelos found himself still holding the banana for some reason, seeing as there was never a good time to let it go. "Not entirely?"

Ignoring that, Lloyd asked, "But why do you have so many Exspheres here? What are you doing with them?"

"After giving it quite a bit of thought," Regal said. "I decided keeping Exspheres in Altamira was risky. While it is a wonderful place, it is not the most secure. A hurricane could easily destroy the city, or at least cause havoc. On top of that, it is not the most well-guarded city. Exsphere traders could easily slip through its defenses. Meltokio, however, appears to be the perfect place to store and hide away Exspheres. Far from the ocean's wrath and a large defensive wall to protect from any possible invaders, I could hide away the rest of the Exspheres that have already surfaced from the mines. Already we are preparing a vault storage deep beneath the city, so that no regular trader can easily find it."

"Wow," Lloyd admitted. "That, uh, makes a lot of sense actually."

"Indeed," Regal nodded. "I tried to keep what I was doing here a secret. If word got out that I was transporting mass quantities of Exspheres, I could easily become a target for nefarious individuals."

Colette, feeling almost as guilty as she's ever felt, still had one thing bothering her. "But, why are you taking dogs off the streets?"

"A good question," Regal said. "More than just storing Exspheres away in a vault, I plan to use the Lezareno company to rebuild the slums of Meltokio, make the gap between the rich and the poor not quite so large." He patted the dogs' heads. "Taking these stray dogs off the streets, giving them the food and medical attention they needed was a good start."

A mix of guilt and joy in her heart, Colette asked, "So all the doggies are okay?"

"Yes. I've insured that they received the utmost care, and plan to open a pet store to help find them good homes."

With a mouthful of banana, Zelos said, "Wow. You two really messed up. I told you Regal wasn't up to anything bad."

"Are you kidding?!" Lloyd growled, steam practically hissing out of his ears. "You're the one that made us suspicious in the first place!"

"Regal, I'm so sorry!" Colette cried, "I was the one in charge, I should have never doubted you. I'm such a terrible person."

Regal shook his head. "Don't be ashamed. I was being very secretive with my actions. I completely understand why you might misjudge me."

"No, but after everything we went through together," Colette said sadly. "I should have never lost faith in you. I'm so sorry."

"Please, do not apologize." Regal held up a hand, getting an idea. "I think I know a good way to alleviate this situation, if you'll allow me."

She tilted her head. "Huh? Um, yes?"

For once, a smile lifted his lips. With a confident snap of his finger, he said, "Release the hounds."

Before the trio could even understand, an automatic door slid open behind Regal's desk. Doggies of all shapes and sizes flooded out through the door way, barking, yipping, panting happily. Energy and happiness exploded as they practically tackled the trio, licking and barking all the way.

"Doggies! Doggies!" Colette cried out happily, petting every furry animal she could get her hands on. Each one was so smooth and so clean! Regal really had been taking such good care of them! "Oh, oh, you're Peter!" she said to one dog, before another came licking. "You're Teenie!"

There were so many tails wagging! Some had big fluffy tails, some had little tails, some didn't have tails at all! Their behinds still shook in glee, uncaring. Colette was engulfed in a sea of doggies, her chest feeling the warmest it had ever been, her fingers tingling with such ecstasy! "You're Luigi! You're Teddy! You're Penny!" There were so many dogs to name, she couldn't be happier. "I love you puppies!"

"Agh, no, get off!" Zelos whined, pinned down on the floor with the happy critters. "My hair! Ew, my face, stop licking my face!" They didn't listen, barking and licking him happily. "Hey, my banana! Which one of you took it?!"

Lloyd made his way through the sea of eager dogs, laughing all the way. "Good boy! Or, uh, girl?" He yelled, petting all the dogs that came sniffing. "How about just good dogs?"

Any guilt, any fear, any unhappiness Colette had felt was washed away by this furry flood. So many sniffing wet noses, so many happy yips, so many names to give! She loved each and every doggy so much, and they loved her back just the same. She hugged and petted every dog, wishing somehow, she could keep them all. Maybe that wasn't possible, but thanks to Regal, she knew they'd be happy, and she'd always have her friends, even if she didn't see them all the time.

* * *

Still riding the high after her day of doggy heaven, Colette found herself giggling, holding Lloyd's arm tight. Her cheer was infectious, and the swordsman couldn't help but laugh along with her. While the dogs were so cute and so soft and so cuddly! They were also so furry and kind of drooly. Luckily for them, Zelos' mansion had some really nice baths!

The two left their steamy bathroom wearing their usual pajamas, except this time Zelos thought it polite to lend Lloyd a guest set so he wouldn't be walking around in his underwear. The pajamas were white with little patterns of a 'cute Zelos' posing in different styles. Lloyd opposed it, but Zelos insisted.

"Ohoho!" Zelos cooed, eyebrows raised and mouth splayed in a cocky grin. "You two lovebirds bathed together, eh? I knew you weren't that innocent."

His sexual accusation, of course, went straight over their heads and right out the window. "Well, yeah," Lloyd shrugged. "It's so hard to wash your own back!" he mimicked the motion, straining his arms to reach.

Colette smiled, rubbing his back sweetly. "Yeah! And we don't waste as much water this way either!"

The sexual deviant had just about enough. "You guys honestly suck all the fun out of this." He sighed then mumbled, "I miss Sheena."

"Hm?"

A sudden coughing fit came over him. "I, uh, said I miss pita! Pita bread!" Zelos stuttered.

Colette shook her head, confused. "You said you miss Sheena. What do you mean?"

Ah, of course nothing could get by her bat-like hearing. Zelos certainly wasn't used to his shenanigans going unpunished and quite frankly couldn't stand it. "Just forget it, will ya? I'm going to bed."

Nodding, Colette added, "Okay! Don't forget to wake up bright and early tomorrow! We need to find the little girl and tell her where Pippy is!"

Zelos' hair appeared to become more disheveled from every moment of their interaction. "Yeah, I'm gonna pass, alright? Think I've had enough dogs for one lifetime." Making his way to his room, he opened the door and those eyes of his lit up one last time, as if about to make another sexual joke… until he realized there was no point in doing so. With a defeated sigh, he just shook his head, saying, "Goodnight," before closing the door.

"Goodnight, Zelos!" Lloyd and Colette called out after.

Feeling fresh and clean, the duo made their way to the guest room, looking upon the magnificent bed they'd get to share. "Wow, it's huge!" Lloyd said. "And look at the little silk thing on the side!"

"I bet it's really soft," Colette added.

The swordsman laughed, turning to her. "Hey, wanna jump on the bed a little?"

The idea was so silly, but Colette couldn't help but giggle along with him. "Aren't we too old for that now, Lloyd?"

"Aw, c'mon, you're never too old to jump on someone else's bed!"

"Okay!" Colette said, giving in. Despite the fact that these two had wings and could fly anywhere and do almost anything they wanted, they found themselves happy with the little things.

Creaking and sighing in pain, the bed took a beating under their bouncing bodies. Lloyd and Colette couldn't help but laugh as they jumped along the cushions, pushing and rough housing with each other gently.

The door swung open. "I knew it! I've got you both now!" Zelos cried, pointing at them, eyes sparkling with perverse pleasure.

"Eh?" Lloyd sounded, standing fully clothed with Colette on the bed, a few ruffled feathers floating to the ground.

Once the Chosen had realized that there was nothing going on here, his face practically melted with sadness. "You guys are kidding me!" he yelled. "How is it even possible?!"

Colette stifled a few giggles and tried her best to frown. "Were we too loud? I'm sorry."

Zelos held up a hand, gritting his teeth. "It's fine, whatever! Just - just go to sleep!"

"Do you want to play with us?" Lloyd asked earnestly, pillow in hand.

"No!" Zelos said angrily. "Aren't you guys in your twenties by now? Agh, forget it."

"I'm sorry," Colette said, but having trouble hiding her smile.

"Goodnight, and keep it down this time," Zelos grumbled, closing the door. His sighs and frustrated groans could be heard in the hallway as he made his way back to his room.

Feeling guilty for upsetting their friend, Colette switched the lights off. Silver light streamed in through the window panes, painting the room in a calm gentle light. "We should really sleep anyway," Colette said.

"Aw, fine," Lloyd admitted, hopping under the cozy comforter.

Even when they no longer shared a single sleeping bag, even in this massive bed, the two still found themselves cuddling close, taking up barely even half of the mattress. Lloyd's warm body felt wonderful under the soft blankets, and Colette couldn't help but hug him tight.

"Lloyd?" she asked quietly, making sure he hadn't already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?"

Colette pressed her face against the back of his neck, listening to his steady breathing. "I'm sorry I bossed you around so much today. You never do that when you're the leader."

She didn't see it, but she knew he was smiling. "Aw, Colette, it's okay. Honestly? I kind of liked it. It's nice not worrying about responsibilities, and I love to see you happy."

A finger traced along his back, drawing lines over the tiny Zelos patterns without thinking. "But I…" she stalled. She loved their night talks, even if sometimes they made her sad. She could really open up to Lloyd. In these blankets, it was their world, just the two of them. Nothing was wrong. "But I didn't trust Regal. I even made you skeptical about one of our closest friends."

Lloyd turned around to face her in the dark, his breath warm and gentle against her own. "Colette," he said in that stern tone of his, like he knew so perfectly what she was thinking, what to say. "You had a good reason to think that. The important thing is you never gave up on him, even when things looked its worst." His stern tone shifted. "And I mean it was mostly Zelos' fault anyway."

She laughed lightly at that. "Don't blame him, though. He has his reasons."

"I guess," Lloyd admitted with a frown. She knew he didn't hate Zelos. If there was one thing Lloyd was good at, it was reading people. "Still, we would have never found Pippy if it weren't for you. And now we know a good amount of Exspheres will be safely hidden away, too. Everything turned out great because of your leadership." He smiled.

With a nervous smile of her own she added, "Ah, well, except I never got that little girl's name. So, we'll probably be searching the slums for a while tomorrow. Sorry."

"That's okay," Lloyd said, hugging her tight. "As long as we're together, I'm happy."

Colette's chest felt warm again as she snuggled under his chin, listening to his body's every movement. "I love you," she whispered.

With a quick kiss of her hair, he replied, "Love you, too."

Wrapped in each other's arms, the two fell asleep quickly, ready for anything that tomorrow might bring them. As long as they were together, they'd face those days with smiles.


End file.
